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By Shane Clark, RMT

A common question that I am asked as a Registered Massage Therapist is how often a person should receive massage therapy? Clients usually want to either eliminate the issue that they are experiencing or to keep a problem that has been eliminated from returning and they wonder how often they should come to do that.

This is a complex question. Each person’s situation is different, as is their state of physical health, and some areas of the body are more prone than other to re-occurrence and strain.

A single treatment is typically sufficient to resolve a minor or short-term issue. Provided an injury isn’t from a major trauma, as the body needs time to heal, a single treatment may meet your needs. If there is a major trauma though, a single treatment will likely not ensure resolution.

Typically to resolve a moderate or established issue, a single treatment provided once a week for a 2-4 week period will provide a resolution. This is contingent though on following the directions of the RMT in regards to home care. Home care typically consists of increased water consumption and 1-3 easy to carry out home based exercises or stretches.

Issues that are more severe or longer term are more difficult to resolve as these issues have had time to establish themselves within the body. In most cases, these issues have caused secondary or tertiary issues to arise which complicates things further. For a more severe or longer term issue, it is typical to start with two treatments spaced 2-3 days apart for 1-3 weeks. Then, assuming there has been improvement and home care has been completed, the treatment frequency moves to the moderate category.

The key is to avoid an issue advancing from minor category to moderate or serve. Daily aches and pains and commonly suffered injuries and if they are cared for at the earliest opportunity you can usually avoid them getting worse.

To typically keep an issue from re-emerging, the treatment protocol that I find most helpful is a single treatment every 4-6 weeks. Typically, I encourage my clients to pay attention to their body and if they feel the issue coming back, get in for a massage quicker rather than later. Self-involvement in your own health and paying attention to your body’s warning signs can help to head issues off before they become a problem.

We all agree that prevention is better than cure. Everyone likes to be healthy in order to enjoy life efficiently. Physiotherapy not only helps to cure physical functional disability but also helps you stay fit and prevent injuries. Wear and tear of joints and injury can occur regularly due to faulty posture, overuse of joints and negligence in day today life.

Have you ever made a habit of listening to your body? If not, start today. Do not neglect it if there is any tiredness or pain that occurs after working a certain amount of time either from your occupation, gardening, a household task or playing sports. It requires attention. If it is neglected, it can lead to serious injury.

Good posture is as important as eating right, exercising, getting a good night’s sleep and avoiding harmful substances. Without good posture, you can’t really be physically fit and over time your poor posture will cause you to develop problems such as a painful back, aching neck and shoulders, joint pain and it will also have negative effect on your knees. Not standing and sitting up straight can set you up for some surprising health problems such as tension headaches, fatigue, reduced lung function, gastrointestinal pains and it also makes you look older than you are.Physiotherapist can help to find any physical functional capabilities, wrong work ergonomics that are affecting your posture, working habits that are hurting you and to educate you accordingly to make necessary changes. They can also help with any acute soft tissue sprain or strain that should be treated immediately to prevent secondary damage to other joints.

Physiotherapists are primary health care professionals with a significant role in health promotion and the treatment of injury and disease. They combine their in-depth knowledge of the body and how it works with specialized hands on clinical skills to assess, diagnose and treat symptoms of illness, injury and disability

Appointments for Physiotherapy are available in the evenings and can be booked by calling the Clinic at 613-225-1127.

By James MacPherson, RMT

The bright sunshine and long hot summer days are great, and are an important part of summer. Staying active in the heat makes it all the better, whether you’re on the lake fishing, enjoying a long bike ride or playing some ultimate Frisby on parliament hill, it’s great to be outside! It’s important we take a moment before we go out to make sure we’ve considered some summer safety.

Hotter weather and higher UV days can be dangerous if not treated with respect and a bit of pro activity. The daily UV index is a scale to help people with day to day sun protection. The way it works is if someone of fair skin, without a tan or sunscreen, takes normally 30 minutes to burn at a UV of 6 then at a UV of 12 it would only take 15 minutes. Some UV is beneficial for human health but even a UV of 3 is cause enough to wear sunglasses and a hat. The peek hours of intense UV exposure is between 10-4 and during those times it’s best to find shade, cover up and use sun screen.

The heat is what makes summer worth while. When you check the thermometer it’s important to consider the humidex, so you can make sure the day doesn’t get the better of you. Heat exhaustion, heat stroke and dehydration are conditions that need to be taken seriously and the young and old are most vulnerable. Some side effects to look out for are:

a body temp >100 degrees

Muscle weakness

Altered mental state or behavior

Alteration or stopped sweating

Nausea and vomiting

Flushed/ red skin

Headache

Racing heart rate and rapid breathing

If you find yourself with these symptoms it’s imperative that you seek shade, cool yourself down and begin drinking water immediately.

This summer when you’re out and about enjoying the season It’s important to look after yourself and your loved ones. Our health is our own responsibility and diligence is needed to make the best of the summer season and stay healthy.

Go! Go! Go! This seems to be the nature of the world we live in these days. Many people are hit with stressful situations from all aspects of their lives. The thought of trying to get caught up, never mind keep up with the constant demands of work, family, and social life can be overwhelming. Where does this leave us? STRESSED OUT!

Stress appears in many forms and can be very different for different people. It might be body tension and pain, headaches, stomachache and digestive problems, anxiety, insomnia…the list goes on. The question is what can be done today about any one of these conditions? The Answer: BREATHE.

Have you ever paid attention to your breath? How fast is it? How long is your inhale/exhale? Do you feel your breath mostly in your stomach or collarbones?

I encourage you to take a few minutes out of your day today and everyday for the next week to do the exercise below and focus on your breath. This is often good to do before bedtime. Please consult your healthcare provider if you have had difficulties with diaphragmatic breathing in the past or you are a diabetic. Should you feel lightheaded please stop and try again another day.

Find a comfortable place to lie down, or sit back. Place one hand on your stomach and one hand on your chest. Close your eyes and listen to your breath. What are you feeling? For many people the hand on their stomach may not be moving at all while the hand on their chest is moving considerably. Continue with the exercise, inhaling to a count of 3 or 4, while trying to move the hand on your stomach. As you exhale count again and feel the hand on your stomach flatten. The hand on your chest will move during this process especially as your breath deepens and expands up into the lungs. However, we want to make sure the diaphragm is doing its job and not allowing the muscles in the chest and neck to do all the work.

When we speak of diaphragmatic breath it means to engage the diaphragm muscle. When used properly the diaphragm can help the body deliver oxygen and remove CO2 more efficiently. It assists in moving blood and lymphatic fluid and can also help break patterns of pain. Have you noticed your Massage Therapist ask you to take a breath when something is painful? This is a very helpful way of encouraging the body to relax.

Now that you are more aware of your breath use it as an effective tool in helping to maintain the best possible you.

We are very excited to announce that we have a new addition to our team and extended massage hours with Kate!

Kate Fishwick, one of our Certified Laser Therapists is now also a Registered Massage Therapist! She will be available for massage therapy on Thursday and Friday evenings as well as Saturdays during the day.

We also have a lovely new addition to our team! Tonya Gartshore is a very experienced, certified Shiatsu therapist who can help you with a wide range of issues while helping you to relax. Tonya has also completed the Registered Massage Therapy program and will begin offering Registered Massage Therapy later this summer.